Ralphs and Albertsons supermarkets find themselves on the defensive end of two class action employment lawsuits brought by 9,000 union workers. The worker say they were illegally denied millions of dollars in benefits while on strike in 2003. The cases challenge decisions made by the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board that allowed the grocery stores to deny benefit payments to employees during the strike and lockout. Among other things, the workers maintain that the lock-out was illegal, and they are therefore owed benefits.
The cases are the latest in the bitter fallout from the 2003 grocery strike. Recently, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Ralphs illegally gave money to Albertsons and Vons grocery stores to help support them during the labor dispute. Sales had dropped precipitously at Albertsons and Vons due to the strike, and Ralphs gave their competitors money to stay afloat. The court found the grocery stores violated anti-trust laws.
In 2006, Ralphs pleaded guilty to using fake Social Security numbers to re-hire locked out workers. It was a felony offense, and the grocery chain was required to pay $20 million in fines and $50 million into a fund to reimburse workers and the union.
The law office of Callahan & Blaine is California’s premier litigation firm, specializing in class action employment lawsuits like the Albertsons and Ralphs employment class actions. In a similar class action employment law case that took place in Orange County, California, Callahan & Blaine lawyers negotiated a $42 million settlement for a group paper carriers denied employment rights by the Orange County Register.
If you believe you have been wrongfully terminated or discriminated against by an employer, contact California’s premier litigation firm, Callahan & Blaine, to discuss your employment law case today.
